Corporate Advocacy Program: The best way to manage and repair your business reputation. Hiding negative complaints is only a Band-Aid. Consumers want to see how businesses take care of business. All businesses will get complaints. How those businesses take care of those complaints is what separates good businesses from bad businesses.

As part of its continuing crackdown on mortgage relief scams, the FTC filed a complaint against Santa Ana, California-based Sameer Lakhany and five companies he controlled. Lakhany also did business using three websites, HouseHoldRelief.org, FreeFedLoanMod.org, and MyHomeSupport.org. The complaint charges that the defendants victimized hundreds of consumers with two related scams.

In one scam, the FTC claims the defendants masqueraded as a specialty law firm, Precision Law Center, and sent out direct mail resembling a class action settlement notice, holding out the false promise to consumers that if they sued their lenders along with other homeowners in so-called “mass joinder” lawsuits, they could obtain favorable mortgage concessions from their lenders or stop the foreclosure process. In fact, the defendants allegedly operated a sham law firm and only engaged attorneys briefly to file the lawsuits, after which either the defendants neglected the suits, or the suits were dismissed. According to the FTC, they charged $6,000 to $10,000 in advance, but failed to get the results they promised.

The FTC alleges that to convince consumers that they should hire Precision Law Center, telemarketers followed up by mailing material to them promising that the mass joinder suit would result in:

“Forgiveness of all delinquent payments, fees and penalties,”

“Halt and reverse (sic) foreclosure proceedings,”

“Credit restoration,”

“Possible compensatory damages in the amount of $22,500.00,” and

“Possible punitive damages in the amount of $52,500.”

The material also allegedly claimed that 80 to 85 percent of these suits are successful, and that consumers might also: receive their homes free and clear; have their principal balance reduced to 70 percent of the current value and their interest rate reduced by half; be refunded any accrued interest, penalties, and charges; improve their standing with credit reporting agencies; and receive monetary damages.

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This is very similar to what the Real Estate Law Center does and promises. Be careful when dealing with them. Get everything in writing, including their promises. Make sure they are meeting EACH of the criteria below:

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WHAT ABOUT

COLLECTING LEGAL FEES?

Lawyers can charge clients fees in advance if:

1) they’re providing mortgage assistance relief services as part of practice of law;

2) they’relicensed in the state in which their client or theirclient’s home is located;

3) they’re complying with state laws and regulations concerning attorney conduct; and 4) before they perform any services, they place the fees in a client trust account that complies with state laws and regulations. Non-attorneys who offer mortgage assistance relief services can’t collect fees until their customer has accepted a written offer of mortgage relief from their lender or servicer.Under the Rule, attorneys can’t withdraw fees in the client trust account before earning the fee or incurring the expense. To maintain their exemption from the Rule’s ban on upfront fees, attorneys must comply with all state requirements related to use of client trust accounts. Laws and regulations for attorneys vary by state, but examples of activities that likely could cause attorneys to lose their exemptioninclude:

1. Withdrawing money from a client trust account before the attorney earns fees or

incurs expenses;

2. “Front-loading” fees for mortgage relief assistance services to expedite the withdrawal of funds from a client trust account;

3. Failing to keep complete records of transactions associated with a client trust

account;

4. Failing to notify a client of a withdrawal so that he or she has an opportunity to review the transaction and, if necessary, contest it;or

5. If a client contests a withdrawal, failing to keep those funds separate from other

clients’ and attorneys’ funds. The Rule doesn’t restrict the type of fees attorneys may charge their clients. Attorneys may charge any kind of fee, including flat fees, contingency fees, hourly fees, or some combination. However, before performing

promised services, attorneys must deposit any fee in a client trust account. Regardless of the type of fee an attorney charges, he or she can’t withdraw money from the account until fees are earned or expenses incurred.

Corporate Advocacy Program: The best way to manage and repair your business reputation. Hiding negative complaints is only a Band-Aid. Consumers want to see how businesses take care of business. All businesses will get complaints. How those businesses take care of those complaints is what separates good businesses from bad businesses.

AUTHOR: guyrichie - ()

SUBMITTED: Wednesday, June 26, 2013

POSTED: Wednesday, June 26, 2013

I don't understand what the above report was for, if RELC is engaged in all of the identical practices of Precision Law Center which was shut down, that means that THEY ARE A SCAM. there is no need for others to consider going with them or to ask questions about their services. I too received a similar mailer and it had scam written all over it, I feel sorry for the people who were so desperate to get taken in by these people. If it sounds like a duck, acts like a duck, it's a duck!

Corporate Advocacy Program: The best way to manage and repair your business reputation. Hiding negative complaints is only a Band-Aid. Consumers want to see how businesses take care of business. All businesses will get complaints. How those businesses take care of those complaints is what separates good businesses from bad businesses.